# Sous Vide Newbie



## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

I have been wanting one for a while now, but I finally bit the bullet and got an Anova Blue Tooth Sous Vide cooker. I figured they would eventually drop below $100 and Target had them for that $99 last weekend. 

Is anyone else using ones? Any tips for a first cook? I am thinking just a simple burger. I also hear they are great for Salmon. But are there any cuts that work particularly well with this method?


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## ADRUNKK (Aug 16, 2016)

A burger is a good start. Sous vide it for an hour. Give it a 10 minute break at room temperature and then sear it in screaming hot cast iron skillet in a little bacon grease. Freaking heaven. It's the best burger ever and perfectly evenly cooked to your liking in the center.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

My ears are up....never heard of these "water ovens" before and just thinking about watering my food gives me a little red flag but after reading some reviews about them there is a following for sure. We have a gourmet kitchen that is about 650 square feet with all the bells and whistles...convection oven....regular oven....gas stove for BBQ and other toys. Bread machines....KitchenAid mixers...other equipment....coffee machines out the ying yang....wife loves cooking but I could eat at Cracker Barrel every other day...how impressive. Too many other kitchen goodies to list and I had to put a rack in the garage to house all of the gadgets she uses and yet...we still go out to eat 3 times a week.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

Cigary said:


> My ears are up....never heard of these "water ovens" before and just thinking about watering my food gives me a little red flag but after reading some reviews about them there is a following for sure. We have a gourmet kitchen that is about 650 square feet with all the bells and whistles...convection oven....regular oven....gas stove for BBQ and other toys. Bread machines....KitchenAid mixers...other equipment....coffee machines out the ying yang....wife loves cooking but I could eat at Cracker Barrel every other day...how impressive. Too many other kitchen goodies to list and I had to put a rack in the garage to house all of the gadgets she uses and yet...we still go out to eat 3 times a week.


Your kitchen is about the size of my apartment!!! I got a lot of use out of my bread machine. My only complaint is the size of the loaf, but you can always split the dough into a couple of loaf pans if you want something normal sized. But for me it excels on Pizza Dough. You just drop in the ingredients and when it beeps you are ready. Though I like to make it a few days in advance and do a slow ferment in the fridge. I prefer it to my mixer for pizza dough.

The Sous Vide cooker is smaller, about the size of an immersion blender and will fit in the gadget drawer. Supposedly you can make something special out of some not so special cuts of meat. I probably wont get to it until this weekend. I have have to get through my Turkey Soup first.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

ADRUNKK said:


> A burger is a good start. Sous vide it for an hour. Give it a 10 minute break at room temperature and then sear it in screaming hot cast iron skillet in a little bacon grease. Freaking heaven. It's the best burger ever and perfectly evenly cooked to your liking in the center.


That actually sounds like a plan. Can't go wrong with a bacon burger!!!


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## CloakedInSmoke (Sep 14, 2016)

I want to sous vide a ribeye cap and will do that in my crock pot using a temp controller connected to it. I've seen people do it in coolers filled with water, while checking the temperature. I also think no expensive device is really needed to do this, it just could be easier to do it.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

CloakedInSmoke said:


> I want to sous vide a ribeye cap and will do that in my crock pot using a temp controller connected to it. I've seen people do it in coolers filled with water, while checking the temperature. I also think no expensive device is really needed to do this, it just could be easier to do it.


THe cooler would be great for a cook out where you needed a lot done. I was going to go the temp controller route with a crock pot, but that $100 price on the Anova was good enough for me. . I was close to buying one early in the year when they were on sale for $129. Plus I am a bit of a gadget guy. I know I will get my use out of it. Plust the set and forget aspect is nice to have.

I think someone needs to make a combo SousVide/Crock Pot/pressure cooker.


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## ADRUNKK (Aug 16, 2016)

Soft boiled eggs are nice but you have to nail the timing.

Also carrots seem to really benefit from sous vide cooking. They taste way better than normal carrots but i cant figure out why.


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## ADRUNKK (Aug 16, 2016)

CloakedInSmoke said:


> I want to sous vide a ribeye cap and will do that in my crock pot using a temp controller connected to it. I've seen people do it in coolers filled with water, while checking the temperature. I also think no expensive device is really needed to do this, it just could be easier to do it.


This is how i do it. I have a corded thermometer in a cooler with the lid closed to keep the heat in. Add a little bit of boiling water when you drop 2-3 degrees below your desired cooking temp.


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## CloakedInSmoke (Sep 14, 2016)

ADRUNKK said:


> Soft boiled eggs are nice but you have to nail the timing.
> 
> Also carrots seem to really benefit from sous vide cooking. They taste way better than normal carrots but i cant figure out why.


How long do you cook eggs? I've seen someone somewhere did that, but I just boil mine - 2 min boil on high, turn off the heat, cover and leave for one more minute.Dump the water, flush with cold water to cool the eggs.

Hmm, carrots sound good, anything else you've tried?


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## smbisig (Nov 5, 2016)

The only way I cook my ribeye steaks is sous vide. Used to reverse sear, then discovered the world of Sous Vide. And since I became addicted to the ribeye sous vide, I started to dry age my own ribeye roasts for steaks. I think I have a hobby problem.


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## Hari Seldon (Aug 22, 2015)

smbisig said:


> The only way I cook my ribeye steaks is sous vide. Used to reverse sear, then discovered the world of Sous Vide. And since I became addicted to the ribeye sous vide, I started to dry age my own ribeye roasts for steaks. I think I have a hobby problem.


That sounds great, ribeye is my favorite cut of steak. I have heard sous vide takes a long time though, how long do you have to cook the steaks to get to temperature?


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## smbisig (Nov 5, 2016)

Hari Seldon said:


> That sounds great, ribeye is my favorite cut of steak. I have heard sous vide takes a long time though, how long do you have to cook the steaks to get to temperature?


Length of time really depends on the meat and the thickness. Depending on the thickness of the ribeye, usually 1-2 hours at 127F is how long I let it soak. Then pat dry the meat, season with Hawaiian sea salt and pepper then do a quick 1 minute sear on both sides on a very hot cast iron pan. And last, let the meat melt in your mouth! Damn, now I am hungry for a steak at 7AM!


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## ADRUNKK (Aug 16, 2016)

CloakedInSmoke said:


> How long do you cook eggs? I've seen someone somewhere did that, but I just boil mine - 2 min boil on high, turn off the heat, cover and leave for one more minute.Dump the water, flush with cold water to cool the eggs.
> 
> Hmm, carrots sound good, anything else you've tried?


I havent done too too much. Burgers, steaks, chicken, carrots, eggs. Thats all that really comes to mind at the moment. I like it because it's so easy and everything comes out moist and perfectly cooked.

It's been a while since I've done soft boiled eggs so i cant recite the timing off the top of my head. I'm very streaky in my cooking but when i get the hankering to sous vide something up I'll do some Google searching around and see what others are posting for times and temps. I have a list of stuff at home I've printed up, I'll see if I cant find it when i get home tonight. There was a couple guides I've found in my Google endeavors that are very helpful.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

ADRUNKK said:


> Soft boiled eggs are nice but you have to nail the timing.
> 
> Also carrots seem to really benefit from sous vide cooking. They taste way better than normal carrots but i cant figure out why.


It probably just seals in the flavor of carrots. Just think about all the flavor a carrot can give to a Vegetable Stock. I like the taste of raw carrots, but not the texture. I will definitely try that.

Thanks!!!


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## philipmilley (Dec 3, 2016)

I recently ordered a Joule. I'm excited to get into this as well. I'll reply back on e I have the ability to test it out. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

I did my first Sous Vide cook over the weekend. It was a Eye of Round roast cooked 24 hours at 131*. This is a pretty tough cut but it came out very tender, but not all that juicy. I guess that is the case with longer cooks on this cut. The juices were mostly left in the bag and for a nice reduction sauce. The meat is very good though. The leftovers will be great for sandwiches. Luckily one of the other gifts I picked up for myself was an 8" Victorinox Fibrox Chef Knife. It makes cutting thin slices easy!!!

I need to try this on some NY Strips of Rib-eyes next.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

I did my second cook on New Years Eve . This was a top sirloin steak that I used to make Steak au Poivre. The steak was cooked for 2 hours at 131 and came out as tender as a fillet. Moist and very tender. There were not a lot of juices left in the bag, but it was enough to make the sauce. I served it with a loaded baked potato. Then some Tres Lehes Cake followed buy a CAO American Torpedo to take me up to Midnight!!!! 

Now I need to decide what to make next!!!


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## ADRUNKK (Aug 16, 2016)

Good job! Just a tip but be careful of the longer cook times on sous vide. Sous vide cooking temps are typically in the range where bacteria thrive. Long cook times at a low temp can lead to something that might make you sick.


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